Page 63 of Hacking His Code

“It’s just that…getting close to you has…complicated things.”

He looks over to me, eyes narrowed. “How so?”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea that we talk about this. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

My hands fly dramatically into the air. “For so many reasons. I’m supposed to hate men. Despise every fiber of their being.”

“I think we’ve established that you don’t hate me.”

“Exactly, and that’s terrifying.”

“It makes me happy.”

“It’s not just that, though. You’retheHunter Davies. You don’t develop attachments. Even your mother warned me about that. And I…and I…”

“Would you like me to share a secret with you?”

“What? That living with no attachments makes life significantly less complicated?” I roll my eyes to emphasize my distaste.

“No, it’s that I have developed an attachment as of late. One I’m not quite sure what to do with.”

My heart sinks, but I shouldn’t be surprised. It explains where he was last night.

“And who would that be with?”

“You.”

I blink, stunned, and not at all sure that I heard or interpreted him correctly.

“You’re smart, funny, insanely attractive, though I doubt you’ll believe that. You also don’t trust people; I don’t either. It’s one of the reasons I have a hard time forming attachments. For some reason, though, I trust you.”

“I’m sure you encounter women with those attributes all the damn time. You know, ones with better pedigrees that aren’t poor.”

“I have gobs of money and need none from you. Sure, I encounter beautiful women. Frequently. With my line of work, I encounter smart ones too. But I’ve never encountered the whole package before. That is, until I met you.”

“Hunter, I don’t think you understand. You hold my heart in the palm of your hands.”

He takes a step forward, his hand wrapping around my own. “As you hold mine.”

Nothing he’s saying makes sense.

“I’ll transfer the full million to your account this very minute if you just agree to stay. All I want is your aroundness. Nothing more. Just…to help me make sense of what it is I’m feeling.”

This is it. This is your time. Your opportunity to have a slice of what everyone else is talking about. Don’t fuck it up.

“I don’t want your money,” I say boldly. “But I do want something from you.”

“Anything.”

“I trust you. And…I trust you with me…”

He looks at me, a hopeful look on his face. “Oh-kay…but what does that mean, exactly?”

“Don’t make me say it…”

Hunter takes a deep breath, his chest rising dramatically. I couldn’t have made my point any more clear, which means he has reservations.